Pub GuideFlatley says son can choose his own path
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Michael Flatley had a pretty hectic schedule at the Worlds but the mega dance superstar still found time to discuss the Flatley family dance legacy with IrishCentral.com
Flatley talked about the very first dance lesson he received at the age of 4 when he visited his grandmother in County Carlow. She spent some time teaching young Michael his first Irish dance steps, but Flatley said: “I forget it before I went to bed that night.”
Flatley said he “hated” Irish dance when he was first introduced to it, but his grandmother was determined to “try to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.”
It wasn’t until Flatley was 11 that his family really began to urge him to try Irish dance. Flatley said, “When I was 11 I got dragged by the ears by my mother and father to Irish dancing classes.”
Flatley and his brother were already involved in boxing, and weren’t too keen on taking up dance.
“I hated it,” he said, “but I kept going.”
We all know the story from there: Michael Flatley went on to become the first Irish American to win a World Irish Dancing Championship, founded the “Riverdance” phenomenon and has become one of the greatest and most loved Irish dancers of all time.
So does his son, Michael St. James, have a future in Irish dancing? “I can’t answer that,” said Flatley. “It is up to his mother.”
Meanwhile, Michael Jr. was excitedly making noises and playing in the background. Flatley said, “I think that he is just a ball of energy at the moment and hard to keep up with.”
But for now, Michael Sr. will remain the Irish dancer in the Flatley family .
“For me, I have done what I could and I still have a few miles in me.”
And the fate of the Flatley dance legacy is up to Michael St. James.
“It’s up to him now. And we will see where it goes from here. Who knows what he will chose to do – whatever it is, it’s fine with me,” said Flatley.
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